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Amazon Kindle touch unboxing gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Galleries, Handhelds,

Kindle touch unboxed

Amazon's new Kindle Fire is getting all the attention as of late, but the company also shipped its first touchscreen e-Ink reader as well, called the Kindle touch, yesterday - a week earlier than originally anticiapted. We're in the middle of putting the Kindle touch through its paces, and we'll be reporting back with a review soon, but for now, take a look at our Kindle touch unboxing gallery for an up-close look at the new device.

You can pick up the Kindle touch for $99.

[Camera: Chris Aarons]

Gallery:


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Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet ships early

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,

Nook Tablet

If you pre-ordered a Nook Tablet, you can get your hands on it a bit early. Though Barnes & Noble said the device would arrive on doorsteps and in stores on or around Nov. 17, the company confirmed that it will actually be available as of yesterday.

The device was delivered and available for in-store pickup yesterday. Those who didn't pre-order can start buying the tablet in stores today.

The Nook Tablet includes a 7-inch touch screen with 1024-by-600 display and runs a TI OMAP 4 dual-core processor. The $249 Nook Tablet boasts 16GB of internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card and includes access to Barnes & Noble in-store support.

Rival Amazon also shipped its Kindle Fire tablet a day early for shoppers who pre-ordered the device; it was originally scheduled to ship on Nov. 15. During an earnings call last month, Amazon said pre-orders for the Fire exceeded expectations, prompting the company to ramp up production on the tablets. Dave Limp, vice president of Amazon Kindle, also said this week that the $199 Kindle Fire is already the best-selling item across all of Amazon.com.

Click to continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet ships early


2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon Kindle Fire

We continue our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet. This is the Amazon tablet we've been waiting on for months, and it's has finally shipping. Amazon's looking to disrupt the tablet landscape with the Fire, and is pricing it aggressively at $199. The Kindle Fire weighs 14.6 ounces and packs a 7-inch IPS display, dual-core processor, 512 MB RAM, and 8 GB of on-board storage. It runs a forked version of Android that Amazon has prettied up in a major way. You also get Wi-Fi built-in as well.

Purchasers of the Kindle Fire also get a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, which'll let you get a nice sampling of what the company's Video on Demand service offers. Other services you can access from the Fire include Amazon's Android Appstore, Kindle books, a host of magazines, Cloud Drive, Cloud Player, and the Amazon MP3 service.

You can pick up a Kindle Fire now for $199 on Amazon.

Read More | Amazon Kindle Fire

Here’s how to run almost any Android app on the Kindle Fire

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Software,

Kindle Fire

The new Amazon Kindle Fire is a powerful, dual-core Android tablet for only $200. It doesn't have the quarter-million apps from the Android Market, though; by default, you can only load the "thousands" of apps in Amazon's App Store.

But that's OK. If you have an Android phone around, you can use free tools to load almost any Android app onto the Kindle Fire. You don't need to hack, alter, or "root" your phone or tablet to do this, and Amazon doesn't oppose sideloading apps.

The Kindle Fire can install any app in the standard Android APK format, but I strongly suggest only installing apps you've moved over from a phone or downloaded from a major app store. You can find APKs scattered around the Internet on various sites, but don't use those, even for free apps.

Why not? Developers can't track APKs that are just floating around the Net, so they don't know their apps are being used. That discourages developers, especially small developers, from upgrading and making new apps. Peer-to-peer app piracy sites are also sinks of malware, as they have none of the safeguards you'll find on an app store.

So here's how to move any app from an Android phone running Gingerbread (Android 2.3) to a Kindle Fire. It's a lot of steps, but I'm just being very clear; they go quickly.

Click to continue reading Here’s how to run almost any Android app on the Kindle Fire


Black Friday 2011: Walmart

Walmart Black Friday 2011 ad

Walmart's Black Friday 2011 ad is live, and for ambitious shoppers who venture out at midnight, the store will have a number of deals on TVs, PCs, and gaming consoles. We've listed the highlights after the break.

On the TV front, Walmart will have discounts on Emerson, Samsung, and LG sets. Samsung LCD TVs will start at $98 for a 19-inch 720p model, followed by a 32-inch 720p version for $278. The 40-inch and 46-inch 1080p models will retail for $428 and $598, respectively. Finally, a 51-inch 720p Samsung LCD TV will be on sale for $498.

Looking for a PC? Walmart is offering a 15.6-inch, dual-core HP laptop with a 320GB hard drive and 3GB of memory for $248. An HP laptop with a 500GB hard drive and 17.3-inch screen will be $388. An HP dual-core 500GB desktop with 18.5-inch monitor, integrated speakers, mouse, and keyboard will also be available for $298. A 15.6-inch Compaq Presario laptop with a 250GB hard drive will be on sale for $198.

For the gamers, an Xbox 360 4GB console bundle with Gears of War 3, Xbox Live three-month membership, and a $50 Walmart gift card will be $199. An Xbox 360 4GB bundle with the Kinect sensor, Kinect Adventures, and a one-month Xbox Live Gold membership will be $199.96, while a Kinect bundle with Kinect Adventures, The GunStringer, and Fruit Ninja will be $99.96. An Xbox Live three-month subscription card will also be $12, while an Xbox 360 wireless controller will be $49.96.

Click to continue reading Black Friday 2011: Walmart


Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. Nook Color: The Details

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Handhelds,

KindleFirevs.NookTablet

The low-cost Android tablet space is heating up. And just in time for the holidays.

Barnes & Noble today unveiled the Nook Tablet, a beefed-up follow-up to the popular Nook Color ebook reader/tablet. The Nook Color also remains in the company's arsenal, but with a lower price. The Nook Color is available now, while the Nook Tablet is available for pre-order and ships by November 18.

Amazon, meanwhile, last month took the wraps of its first color touch-screen ereader/tablet, the Kindle Fire, which is currently on pre-order and ships by November 15.

Click to continue reading Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. Nook Color: The Details


Nook Tablet: The new $249 multimedia tablet e-reader from Barnes and Noble

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,

Nook Tablet

This morning Barnes and Noble unleashed their answer to the Kindle Fire, and it's the Nook Tablet. The Nook Tablet focuses on multimedia consumption, and keeps true to its e-reader roots with a great book and magazine reading experience. It's got a 7-inch display with Wi-Fi built-in and 16 GB of storage as well. It's thinner and lighter than the Nook Color, with a much faster 1 GHz dual-core processor as well.

The Nook Tablet also has 1 GB of RAM, and weighs in at under a pound. B&N says you should expect 11.5 hours of battery life from the device, which runs a customized version of Android 2.3. That customization, by the way, means that this isn't the type of Android tablet that you can just take and do your will with. It's geared towards things like reading books/magazines/periodicals, email, Internet browsing, video streaming, etc. In fact, a partnership with Netflix means you'll have deep integration of the platform on this tablet, with suggestions showing up on your home screen. Expect games, music services like Pandora, and other entertainment options (like Hulu) as well.

The Nook Tablet ships on November 18th, and can be pre-ordered now.


Amazon hurrying Kindle Fire production in response to massive demand

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,

Kindle Fire

Amazon said Tuesday that Kindle Fire pre-orders exceeded expectations and the company is now ramping up production on the tablets.

"September 28th was the biggest order day ever for Kindle, even bigger than previous holiday peak days," Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, said in a statement. "In the three weeks since launch, orders for electronic ink Kindles are double the previous launch. And based on what we're seeing with Kindle Fire pre-orders, we're increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned."

The $199 Kindle Fire will debut on November 15. Last month, Amazon also debuted a $79 version of its original, e-ink Kindle, and will start selling a touch-based version on November 21. You can pre-order the Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch now.

Click to continue reading Amazon hurrying Kindle Fire production in response to massive demand


Amazon Kindle Fire sells 95,000 units on day one

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,

Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon and retail partners took 95,000 pre-orders for the first Amazon tablet, the Kindle Fire tablet on its first day, according to a digital marketing firm.

That's about a third of the 300,000 first-generation iPads Apple sold on its first day, but still impressive given Amazon is only shipping the Kindle Fire on November 15.

On Wednesday, Amazon launched its first and long-awaited tablet, the Kindle Fire, for $199. Though it won't be released until November, Amazon and select retail partners, like Best Buy, began taking pre-orders and expect to to have the product shipped out in time for the holidays.

Pre-sales of Amazon's three other Kindles launched this week, the $70 original Kindle, $99 Kindle Touch, totaled approximately $25,000 units.

Click to continue reading Amazon Kindle Fire sells 95,000 units on day one


Bleeding Edge TV 396: Amazon Kindle 2011 vs Amazon Kindle 2010

We bring you a comparison between last year's Kindle 3 (from 2010) and the new entry-level Kindle (2011) in this episode. We show you the size differences, compare the display refresh speeds, and go over more of the changes between the two models of Amazon's e-book reader. The new Kindle is available now for $79 from Amazon, with the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire shipping this November. Be sure to get details on all the new Kindle hardware!

Also be sure to check out our Amazon Kindle (2011) unboxing video and Kindle (2011) photo gallery.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


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